Saturday statement from China
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday that "the technical consultations of some of the text agreement were basically completed" in a further sign of progress on the Phase 1 deal that could be signed in mid-November.
China is pushing for the rollback of some tariffs and the removal of planned Dec 15 tariffs in order to complete the deal.
The framework of the agreement is limited. China has made some token commitments on currency and has changed IP laws, but not nearly to the extent that the White House had earlier demanded. The crux of the deal is China resuming agricultural purchases at a level seen before 2019 in return for a pause in US tariffs.
At the same time, China is forging ahead on decoupling its technology. Beijing on Tuesday set up a new $29B national semiconductor fund to close the gap with US technology, the WSJ reports.
China's foreign reliance on foreign semiconductors is stark. It imported $312.1 billion in semiconductors in 2018, more than the $240.3 billion it imported in crude oil.
